Jacob Kramer 1892-1962
The Philosopher, 1922
lithograph on woven paper
50.3 x 33 cm
Framed: 74 x 58.8 cm
Framed: 74 x 58.8 cm
signed (lower right) 'Kramer' and inscribed (below, left): 'The Philosopher', (right) 'To my friend John from Jacob 1938'
2018-10
© The William Roberts Society, London
Photo: Ben Uri Gallery and Museum
Kramer's philosopher is a portrait of 'religious conscience' conveyed in a modernist idiom with strongly contrasting planes of black and white. The artist had strong links with the Vorticists (although...
Kramer's philosopher is a portrait of 'religious conscience' conveyed in a modernist idiom with strongly contrasting planes of black and white. The artist had strong links with the Vorticists (although by 1922 this short-lived movement had ceased to exist) and also identified with Cubism which, he wrote, 'succeeds in conveying the idea of a dynamic force' (Leeds Mercury, 1928). This print marks a high point of Kramer's modernist style and is one of his most recognisable and successful images. However, the edition was never numbered or closed, enabling the artist to sign and sell copies over many years.
Provenance
purchased at auction 2018Exhibitions
1984 Jacob Kramer, Reassessed, Ben Uri Art Gallery
2003 William Roberts & Jacob Kramer: The Tortoise and the Hare, Ben Uri Gallery - The London Jewish Museum of Art
2018 Acquisitions and Long-Term Loan Highlights Since 2001, Ben Uri Gallery
Literature
Sarah MacDougall ed., Interstices - Discovering the Ben Uri Collection Guest curated by René Gimpel (London: Ben Uri Gallery, 2020), pp. 58-59.;Rachel Dickson, Jacob Kramer - the Hare (London: Ben Uri Gallery, 2003), p. 25, 43, cat. 54.;
Frances Spalding, Introduction, Jacob Kramer: Reassessed (London: Ben Uri Gallery, 1984), p. 3., 25. cat. 52;
